With joblessness having emerged as a big challenge for States like Odisha, a news of solace has come from a recently-released CRISIl report, which puts Odisha in 5th among the 17 sample States that have posted highest average growth in Gross Value Added (GVA) in labour-intensive sectors for the period 2013-16. Significantly, higher growth in the GVA of labour-intensive sectors means the State is more successful in job creation.

According to the CRISIl Report titled ‘States of Growth’, Odisha recorded a higher average growth of around 7.6 per cent in the GVA of labour-intensive sectors against a national average of 7.1 per cent for the period of fiscal year (FY) 13 to FY 16.

The report has put Odisha in the top -5 led by Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Jharkhand. But the report has outlined that since Gujarat and Haryana are richer States, among the poorer (BIMARU) States, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha have emerged as top performers in job creation.

The CRISIl report explains that the high GVA growth of the labour-intensive sectors like construction, manufacturing, trade, hotels, transport & communication, mining, electricity, public administration, financial, real estate, professional services and electricity are considered to measure job creation in an economy.

As per the report, he services sector were Odisha’s job engine. Transport, communication, trade and hotels posted an average GVA growth of 10.4 per cent between FY 13 to FY16, which is the 5th highest nationally led by Jharkhand.

The average GVA growth in the manufacturing sector in Odisha during the period was 7.9 per cent and was at 6th in the list led by Bihar that topped with an average growth rate of around 27 per cent followed by Chhattisgarh at around 17 per cent.

Despite the GVA above the national average, Odisha finished 3rd from the bottom among 17 States with around 6.2 per cent average GVA growth in the public administration and other services. Odisha scored average annual GVA below national averages only in construction, in financial, real estate and professional services.

However, the shocker the CRISIl report has delivered is it listed Odisha as the 3rd most pricey State with an average year-on-year (y-o-y) Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) for the period of FY 13 to FY 17. The report pegged the average y-o-y CPI at around 7.5 per cent in the list led by Karnataka with 7.7 per cent vis-a-vis the national average CPI of around 6.8 per cent.

The CPI in Odisha has dropped as the report declared that during the period 11 major States, including Odisha, have recorded faster fall in inflation, but the average y-o-y CPI inflation in Odisha for the period remained among the top -5.

In fiscal performance, the CRISIl put Odisha among ‘better-off’ States along with Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra as its debt to GDP ratio as on March 2017 was 17.9 per cent and the fiscal deficit has been below 3 per cent for FY13 to FY17.